If Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart are really switching to 450s this year for the AMA Supercross series, they must be convinced that two significant issues will not affect their title chances. Those issues? Stalling and starting.
To win the AMA Supercross title these days, you must be incredibly consistent. Podiums every weekend with no “bad” races. A motorcycle that stalls easily, or is difficult to restart after a crash could have you finishing deep in the pack and potentially destroy your championship hopes. 450s have been known to pose these problems, and the factories must be looking carefully at their bikes to determine whether they can minimize these somewhat traditional characteristics of the 450s.
